Musical jump rope

ABSTRACT

A jump rope is disclosed which functions to produce a musical tone when in use. The jump rope comprises an elongated flexible hollow tube having a plurality of apertures extending through the skin of the tube at locations near its mid-length. The extremities of the tube are rotatively connected to the ends of a pair of handles. At least one of these handles has a bulbous chamber forming a portion of the handle, the interior of which is in communication with the interior of the tube. The outer end of the bulbous chamber flairs into a bell-like horn section to form the other portion of the handle. A reed is positioned within the handle at a location approximately between the bulbous chamber and the horn section. In operation, the jump rope is utilized in the same manner as conventional jump ropes. As the tube is being swung around the user&#39;&#39;s body, the movement of the tube causes air to quickly pass over the tube&#39;&#39;s skin surface. The centrifugal forces generated within the tubes combined with the outside air passing over the apertured surfaces of the tube function to move air from the interior of the tube through the tube apertures. This evacuation of the interior of the tubing causes air to be drawn in, through the one handle, into the interior of the tube. As the air passes through the handle, it actuates the reed to set it in vibration. The bulbous chamber functions as a resonance cavity to cooperate with the reed to produce a musical tone which is amplified by the horn section of the handle.

United States Patent 1191 Smith, 111 et a1.

[ MUSICAL JUMP ROPE [75] Inventors: Jay Smith, 111, Pacific Palisades;

Gerald W. Schmidt, Woodland Hills; Lawrence T. Jones, Pacific Palisades, all of Calif.

[73] Assignee: California R & D Center, Pacific Palisades, Calif.

[22] Filed: Feb. 10, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 225,113

[52] US. Cl 272/75, 46/52, 46/181 51 1m. c1 A63b 5/20 581 Field of Search 272/74, 75; 46/1 0, 46/52,l75,178 179,180,181

[56] References Cited 'UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,481,600 12/1969 Lang, Sr. et al. 272/74 2,919,919 1/1960 Ebb 272/75 3,212,777 10/1965 Spoczynski 272/75 2,637,141 5/1953 Nisco 46/52 2,963,890 1/1961 Nisco 46/179 3,523,387 8/1970 Smith 46/52 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 23,158 l/l896 Great Britain 46/180 OTHER PUBLlCATlONS Article about Free-Ka, The New Yorker, July 11, 1970, p. 21.

Primary Examiner-Richard C. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-R. T. Stouffer Attorney-Harold Jackson et al.

[ Dec. 11, 1973 [57] ABSTRACT A jump rope is disclosed which functions to produce a musical tone when in use. The jump rope comprises an elongated flexible hollow tube having a plurality of apertures extending through the skin of the tube at 10- cations near its mid-length. The extremities of the tube are rotatively connected to the ends of a pair of handles. At least one of these handles has a bulbous chamber forming a portion of the handle, the interior of which is in communication with the interior of the tube. The outer end of the bulbous chamber flairs into a bell-like horn section to form the other portion of the handle. A reed is positioned within the handle at a location approximately between the bulbous chamber and the horn section. In operation, the jump rope is utilized in the same manner as conventional jump ropes. As the tube is being swung aroundthe users body, the movement of the tube causes air to quickly pass over the tubes skin surface. The centrifugal forces generated within the tubes combined with the outside air passing over the apertured surfaces of the tube function to move air from the interior of the tube through the tube apertures. This evacuation of the in terior of the tubing causes air to be drawn in, through the one handle, into the interior of the tube. As the air passes through the handle, it actuates the reed to set it in vibration. The bulbous chamber functions as a resonance cavity to cooperate with the reed to produce a musical tone which is amplified by the horn section of the handle.

7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures MUSICAL JUMP ROPE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to jump ropes and more particularly to jump ropes capable of producing musical sounds.

2. Description of the Prior Art Jump ropes have long been utilized as a means of exercise for athletes and a form of amusement for children.

Although jump ropes make a whirring sound as they are centrifugally rotated, there have been very few jump ropes commercially developed which are capable of producing other sounds for the amusement of children. Only a few jump ropes have been put on the market that have artificial sound producers, none of which operate in the same manner as the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a jump rope having novel means of producing a musical tone when centrifugally rotated.

The jump rope comprises an elongated tube having a plurality of apertures extending through the skin of the tube adjacent the mid-length thereof. The ends of the tube are connected to a pair of handles, at least one of which is hollow and in communication with the interior of the tubing. A reed is positioned within the handle and is adapted to be set in vibration by air passing through the handle. The air is drawn through the handle by a vacuum created within the tube. This vacuum is caused by the combination of the centrifugal forces within the tube created by the rotation of the tube, and the air passing over the apertured surface of the tube which create a suction on the apertures. These combined forces function to move the air from the interior of the tube through the tube apertures. The tone produced from the vibrating. reed within the handle is shaped and amplified ,by the hollow handle.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a musical jump rope of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the handle of the jump rope showing the interior structure thereof; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the reed utilized within the handle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT:

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a musical jump rope, generally indicated by arrow 10, comprising an elongated hollow tube 11 having a plurality of apertures 13 formed on the tube substantially near the mid-length thereof. The apertures 13 extend entirely through the skin of the tube 11 to provide the interior of the tube 11 with communication to the atmosphere.

The extremities of the tube 11 are attached to a pair of hollow handles 15. The construction of each handle is more clearly shown in FIG. 2. As shown in that figure, the end of the tube 11 is adapted to extend over the nippled end of a hollow connection stud 17. The other end of the stud 17 forms an enlarged, flanged section 19 which is adapted to be rotatively mounted within a bore 21 formed in the one end of the handle 15.

That same end of the handle 15 forms a bulbous chamber 23, the interior of which is in communication with the interior of the tube 13 through the hollow stud 17. The outward end of the bulbous chamber 23 is flaired to form a horn-like bell section 25. The outer surface of the bell section 25 forms the major portion of the handle that is adapted to be grasped by the hand.

A reed assembly 27 is located within the interior of the handle 15 and is preferably positioned in or adjacent the throat of the bell section 25. As shown in FIG. 3, the reed assembly 27 comprises a disc 29 extending across the entire cross section of the handle 15. A pair of thin vibratable reeds 31 and 32 are formed'on the disc 29 and is adapted to extend across a pair of elongated openings 33 and 34 formed therein. Reed 31 is shorter in length than reed 32, and as such, both reeds vibrate at different frequencies. The reed assembly 27 can be made of any type of thin, elastic material such as plastic, cane, wood, metal, etc.

OPERATION The jumping rope 10 is utilized in the same manner as any conventional jump rope. That is, the two handles 15 are held by hand, with the tube 11 assuming a U- shaped configuration. This U-shaped configuration is then rotated in a circle about an axis formed by the handles 15 with the operator jumping over the midlength of the tube 11 as it passes beneath the operators feet.

As the tube 11 rotates in a circle, the mid-length of the tube 11 travels at the greatest speed. This movement causes air to pass over the apertures 13 formed on the skin of the tube 11. The combination of the centrifugal forces generated within the tube 11 and the air passing over the apertures 13 causes the air within the interior of the tube 11 to be drawn through the apertures 13. The vacuum created within the tube lldraws new air into the tube 11 through the handles 15. This is possible because the hollow handles 15 are in communication with the interior of the tube 11 through the connection studs 17.

As the air is drawn through each of the handles 15, it passes through the openings 33 and 34 of the reed assembly 27 to set the reeds 31 and 32 in vibration. The vibrating waves created by this movement cooperates with the resonant cavity formed by the bulbous chamber 23 to create tones vibrating at the respective frequencies. This tone is then projected and amplified through the bell section 25.

The number of reeds activated could vary with the air flow passing through the reed assembly 27, which, in turn, is dependent upon the centrifugal speed of the tube 11. At low speeds and low air flow only one reed may be activated, while at higher speeds both reeds would be activated.

The location of the reed assembly 27 also effects the characteristics of the tone produced. Therefore, the location of the reed 27 can vary, depending on the materials used, the type of tone desired, etc. Moreover, any number of reeds can be formed on the reed assembly 27 with their lengths varying to any length desired.

Because the velocity of the tube 11 is greatest at its mid-length, it is preferable that the apertures 13 be located in that vicinity. This location creates the greatest suction for any given rotational speed.

It is also important to note that only one handle 15 need be utilized to produce sound. The other handle can still be left open, or it can be plugged, which would be-preferable to create a greater suction on the tone producing handle. In either manner, the construction of both handles can remain the same for ease of production.

It should also be noted that the studs 17 are rotatively journaled within the bores 21 of the handles 15 to enable the tube 11 to rotate in an efficacious manner.

As can be seen, the jump rope 10 of the present invention can be operated in the same manner as a conventional jump rope with the added feature of producing a pleasing tone for the amusement of the user.

It should be noted that various modifications can be made to the apparatus while still remaining within the purview of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A jump rope capable of producing a musical sound comprising:

an elongated flexible hollow tube;

a handle portion positioned at each end of the tube;

means for inspiring air into the tube when it is operatively moved through the air including at least one aperture in the tube for permitting the egress of air and a handle conduit extending through at least part of one of the handle portions, one end of the handle conduit terminating in a port in free fluid communication with the ambient air for intaking inspired air and the other end of the conduit being in fluid communication with the tube aperture, said handle conduit including a horn-like bell formed thereon and a bulbous chamber in communication with the interior of the tube; and

sound producing means located within the handle portion and including an audibly vibratable device extending across the flow path of the inspirated air in the handle conduit substantially between the bulbous chamber and the bell whereby a musical sound is produced when the air is forced through the vibratable device.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said vibratable device comprises a reed assembly.

3. The invention of claim 2 wherein said reed assembly comprises a disc extending across the interior of the hollow member, said disc having at least one elongated aperture extending therethrough, and a vibratable reed positioned in the aperture.

4. The invention of claim 3 wherein the disc has a second elongated aperture with a vibratable reed and the respective lengths of the reeds are different.

5. The invention of claim 1 wherein said aperture is located substantially near the mid-length of the said tube.

6. The invention of claim 1 wherein said hollow tube has a plurality of said apertures.

7. The invention of claim 6 wherein said apertures are located in a group substantially near the mid-length of said tube. 

1. A jump rope capable of producing a musical sound comprising: an elongated flexible hollow tube; a handle portion positioned at each end of the tube; means for inspiring air into the tube when it is operatively moved through the air including at least one aperture in the tube for permitting the egress of air and a handle conduit extending through at least part of one of the handle portions, one end of the handle conduit terminating in a port in free fluid communication with the ambient air for intaking inspired air and the other end of the conduit being in fluid communication with the tube aperture, said handle conduit including a horn-like bell formed thereon and a bulbous chamber in communication with the interior of the tube; and sound producing means located within the handle portion and including an audibly vibratable device extending across the flow path of the inspirated air in the handle conduit substantially between the bulbous chamber and the bell whereby a musical sound is produced when the air is forced through the vibratable device.
 2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said vibratable device comprises a reed assembly.
 3. The invention of claim 2 wherein said reed assembly comprises a disc extending across the interior of the hollow member, said disc having at least one elongated aperture extending therethrough, and a vibratable reed positioned in the aperture.
 4. The invention of claim 3 wherein the disc has a second elongated aperture with a vibratable reed and the respective lengths of the reeds are different.
 5. The invention of claim 1 wherein said aperture is located substantially near the mid-length of the said tube.
 6. The invention of claim 1 wherein said hollow tube has a plurality of said apertures.
 7. The invention of claim 6 wherein said apertures are located in a group substantially near the mid-length of said tube. 